At the back post, the left-footed senior midfielder realized she was going to have to strike a “fantastic” cross from classmate Tessa Haldeman with her right foot.

But Putz managed.

She scored the go-ahead goal with 29 minutes left in the Class A Kokomo Semistate to send the Bearcats to a 2-1 win over Lafayette Central Catholic on a wind-swept Saturday.

“I saw the ball coming and I kind of freaked out because I was like, ‘OK, I can’t miss this,’” Putz said. “Hitting it with my right foot was definitely a risk, but it was a risk I was willing to take. It ended up working out.”

Wheeler (22-0), ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll, advanced to next weekend’s state title game against No. 2 Evansville Mater Dei (15-4-1). The Bearcats lost 1-0 in overtime to Mater Dei in last season’s final.

“It’s exciting,” Wheeler coach Bryan Murray said. “It’s Mater Dei and us again, so it’s another opportunity. It was such a great game last year and I anticipate another good one this year.”

Wheeler’s game against No. 3 Central Catholic (17-5) was its most competitive of the season. Before Saturday, the Bearcats had not played a game closer than three goals.

“We’re resilient,” Putz said. “We all work for each other. Everyone came out with 100-percent effort.”

Wheeler started quickly, taking a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. Senior forward Claudia Philips nailed a wind-aided shot from the right wing that sailed over the goalkeeper’s head.

Central Catholic tied the score with less than 18 minutes left in the first half. Senior goalkeeper Alaina Hill made a nice save on Emma Bullock’s free kick from 30 yards, pushing the shot off the crossbar, but Aubrey Weeks nudged in the rebound.

The Bearcats, who started five seniors, had a serious conversation at halftime.

“We shouldn’t have let that goal go in,” Putz said. “None of us followed back like we should have.

“We’re a senior-heavy team and we didn’t want this to be our last game. We wanted to get to state again this year and we did, and hopefully we get the outcome we want this time around.”

Putz helped put Wheeler in that position by burying Haldeman’s cross into the teeth of the wind. Murray called the play “as good of a goal as we’ve put together this year.”

After grabbing the lead, the Bearcats withstood pressure from the Knights.

“Central Catholic is really good,” Murray said. “They’re a well-coached team, very talented. It was everything we thought it would be.

“The four best teams in 1A played it out (Saturday), and we’re going to get a chance to go with Mater Dei.”